16532

Love-ring with play on grammar, made in France or England in the 15th century (source).

The inside of this broad hoop is engraved with a lady, amidst flowers and foliage, holding a squirrel (a symbol of inconstancy) on a leash, while the outside is covered with a black-letter inscription: This reads: UNE FAME NOMINATIVE A FAIT DE MOY SON DATIFF PAR LA PAROLE GENITIVE EN DEPIT DE LACCUSSATIF (‘a nominative report is given to me, the dative, by the genitive word, in spite of the accusative’).The inside is engraved: + M (ON) AMOUR EST INFINIT (V)E DE VEU ESTRE SON RELATIFF (‘my love is an infinitive which wants to be in the relative’). The verse with its play on grammar recalls fifteenth century French poetry, particularly that of Charles, Duke of Orleans (1391-1465). —from the British Museum description